Buddhist monks, priests and nuns and even a couple in wedding attire were among the thousands of demonstrators who on Tuesday flooded the streets in Myanmar to protest the military coup that last week ended the country’s shaky experiment with democracy.
The crowds gathered for a fourth day in the cities of Yangon, Mandalay and Pathein and capitol Naypyidaw, holding signs bearing detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s face and slogans like, “We want justice.”
Police fired water cannon, and reportedly used rubber bullets against protesters, according to Reuters.
“Numerous demonstrators have been injured, some of them seriously, by security forces in connection with the current protests,” said the United Nations in Myanmar in a statement on Tuesday, citing “reports from Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay and other cities.”
Protesters who appeared to be Catholic priests and nuns were seen in Pathein, 100 miles southwest of Yangon, holding signs demanding, “We need democracy: Free our leaders” and “Respect our votes.”
The February 1 military coup that placed leader Suu Kyi under arrest and enforced nationwide internet blackouts has been met with a resistance movement not seen in Myanmar since before the country’s transition to democracy in 2011.
“Three fingers are a tiger’s nail that will break the dictator’s throat,” wrote youth activist Maung Saungkha in a poem published to his Facebook account on Monday. It was a reference to the three-fingered salute seen in protests on the streets, schools and even hospital balconies that was popularized in anti-authoritarian protests in Thailand since 2014 and likely has its roots in the young-adult dystopian ‘”Hunger Games” franchise.
Police fired guns into the air in Naypyidaw when demonstrators initially refused to move, a witness told Reuters.
Protesters in Naypyidaw and Yangon were sprayed with water cannons, and responded by throwing what appeared to be plastic bottles at police in riot gear, video showed. People could be seen wearing rain coats as they stood in a line facing security forces in a video posted to social media from Yangon.
“Security forces have a moral and legal obligation to defy any unlawful orders to use excessive force against peaceful protesters in Myanmar,” wrote U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews on Twitter.
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“All in the chain of command can be held liable for committing crimes against humanity. ‘Following orders’ is no defense,” he added on Tuesday.
A curfew from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., as well as a ban on gathering of five or more people, has been imposed nationwide, according to American Citizen Services in Yangon.
The unrest has stoked fears that Myanmar could return to the authoritarian military regime that ruled Myanmar for half a century until 2011. Nobel laureate Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest and parliamentary democracy was partially reestablished.
Since then, Myanmar’s army has retained overall control of the country’s government, despite two landslide victories for Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy. The nation’s democratic transition came to an abrupt halt on February 1 as the National League for Democracy prepared to take office for a second term.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Sara Mhaidli and Xin Chen contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
